From TikTok videos to traditional songs and stories, Kikuyu cultural beliefs and practices suppressed under 19th-century colonialism are seeing a revival
airimu Mukuru started sharing TikTok videos about Kikuyu culture earlier this year. Within months, the 26-year-old had gained more than 60,000 followers and received at least 1m views of her videos, where she talks about her ethnic group’s traditional practices and beliefs on topics such as mental health and sex.
Adherents of Kikuyu spirituality say it is inseparable from their culture and is treated as a way of life. During colonial rule, the community fought to retain their spiritual systems but the practices were labelled as “savage” pagan religions and ultimately pushed to the margins. “Many people are now rejecting European imposed religious and cultural identities,” says Kanyi, adding that among the Agīkūyū, there is a term for the efforts to revive indigenous beliefs, which translates as “restoring the river to its original course”.
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